Catching Up
by Calleo
Summary: A bit of catching up with an old friend. Done during Moon Guard's last 24 hour downtime.


(( This is what I did during 24 hour downtime the last time it hit Moon Guard!

This is an edited IM chat log with Aglac, and I THINK I got all of the wonky tense shifts, OOC banter, and typos, but, chances are this will be edited several times as I notice more formatting/spelling/major grammar issues or they're pointed out.

It's been cleaned up and put into story form; everything was run by Aglac prior, and has his approval.))

"So," Calleo glanced back over his shoulder at the odd 'merchants' in the distance, glaring at the green speck that was Gorzeeki the overcharging (of course) Goblin, "why are we out here? I could have sworn you'd already-" he turned back to face Aglac, "It's been ages since I've been back here."

"I'm not entirely sure why we're here. Why ARE we here, eh?"

"Oh, really now, you've got to be playing dumb," he nudged one of the loose remnants of a skull with his foot, "Ag, we're at the Altar of Storms-er-at one of them, I know you've been here. You used

to have to come here if you wanted to summon and bind a dreadsteed," Calleo grinned, "but, to answer your question, I'm not entirely sure why or how we ended up out here. I figured you'd know the answer to

that."

"No, I'm afraid I have no idea how we go here. I vaguely remember getting my dreadsteed. Vaguely."

"Mm, that's a pity really, that you don't recall," he leaned back against one of the pillars, "though, I'd think if you went through the proper ritual, you'd remember it, considering how many overly complicated steps it required-and the amount gouged out of you by that Goblin," Calleo tilted his head, watching Aglac, "Of course, since we're out here, we might as well make the most of it."

"What does one do here, exactly?"

"You're joking," Calleo pushed himself off of the pillar and walked over to the other warlock, "I mean, you have to be joking; it's an altar, it's one of the Altar of Storms. It's a ritual place," he reached out to smack Aglac upside the head, "Don't play stupid. Though, I suppose that begs the question are we here to work or to just kill time?"

"I'm good at both, though arguably better at the latter than the former," Aglac sat down abruptly, "Truthfully, I've forgotten a lot. You know, vague memories of places, that sort of thing."

Calleo watched Aglac closely for a moment, eventually sitting down next to him, "I've been wondering about that, actually; you really have no idea what's been going on for the last few years? Stands to reason, to some degree, if you were stuck in Outland but-" he smiles, "if nothing else, you remembered me."

"Heh, of course I remembered you."

"And forgot most everything else," Calleo leaned back on his hands, looking up at the hooded face of one of the pillars, "What -do- you remember?"

"Hmm," Aglac stared intently at the ground in front of him, "I'm trying to remember..." he looked over at Calleo, "Actually, you know, I think the last thing I remember is getting my dreadsteed..."

"Nothing about Hellfire? Or-hm, I think Zangarmarsh was the last place I can recall," Calleo shook his head, "Well, that I can recall having seen you, I can obviously recall things after," he rested a hand on Aglac's shoulder, abeit briefly, "Do you remember how you ended up back in Orgrimmar?"

"No, noth-wait. Hellfire?"

Calleo nodded, "Yeah, Hellfire. First place you hit after going through the portal; looks a lot like the Blasted Lands only with significantly more roving demons."

Aglac blinked at Calleo. "That sounds familiar. I remember," he paused, staring into the distance, "I

remember sort of demon. Hell, a really tall one in fact..."

"Sounds like the fel reavers," he smiled, "big mechanical things, run on fel energy, so-" Calleo leaned back on his hands again, "I'm curious, how is it that you've lost such huge chunks of time, but

instantly recognized me?"

Aglac smiled slightly, "Really now...how could I forget you?"

Calleo chuckled, "Easily, would be the first answer I'd think of," he shrugged idly, "of course, if I hadn't figured you were dead, I would have just figured you'd gone and 'discovered yourself' or paired

off or found something infinitely more interesting."

"Nah, you're pretty interesting. For an Elf." Aglac grinned. "And really, an Orc 'discovering himeself?' I'd be

laughed out of town for that. More so than my clothes, at any rate!"

"For an iElf/i?" Calleo grinned and took a swipe at Aglac, "and tell me about it; it's almost horrifying to watch, they end up reminding me of other Sin'dorei which-" he stopped, tilting his head, "which really is bizarrely entertaining in some respects," Calleo grabbed Aglac's sleeve, giving it a critical look, "The clothes, unfortunately, seem to be standard for what passes for...hm, I'm not sure what, in Outland, but we'll find better, more drab things in Northrend, I'm sure."

"I'm a fan of blue. It goes nicely with my hair!"

"...right, but the yellow and orange shirt-" Calleo paused, "This is a ridiculous conversation, really, more of a distraction from other topics, isn't it?"

"What, ah, what other topics?"

"Where you've been, what you remember, and," Calleo cleared his throat, "how long you'll be staying, for a start."

"Well, I'm working on the first two. The last, I'll stay around as long as you'll have me. You know I'm not

terribly social if left to my own devices."

Calleo shifted, facing away from Aglac in order to lean back on his arm, "See, if we'd sat down over by the pillars-" he tilted his head back, grinning up at the Orc, "You're about as social as I, hm, can't say 'am' anymore, really, but as I can be. Or used to be."

"Well, you're a bit more social than I remember you. I don't do well with strangers though."

"Ha!" Calleo reached back to tug on one of Aglac's braids, "They don't count as strangers if one of us knows them; my former position required me to become somewhat social. After awhile, it's a bit like turning auto-pilot on on the chopper. Most times you don't slam into a hillside," he grinned, "There are a few, however, who I'm sure wouldn't mind seeing me gone."

Aglac swatted at Calleo. "Why do they want you gone?"

Calleo returned the favor, grinning still, "You know how I can be, especially if put under pressure," he shrugged and leaned back against Aglac again, "didn't help matters that I ended up being assigned to what amounted to a drumhead trial of an admittedly irritating Tribesmate; the fact that it was me, and that I actually did the job I was assigned to do was enough to spark most of it. Really, though," he scratched one of his ears, "you know how I can be, especially in the presence of

weakness or fear."

"You can be rather, unforgiving in the face of weakness, heh."

Calleo laughed and shook his head, "Comes with the territory, really, could you imagine trying to deal with demons by trying to talk to them about their feelings and how they're doing? Weakness gets you

killed, after all," he shrugged idly, "Not that I mind the company, of course."

"Of course. Really thought, that's a whole new angle. 'Talk about your feelings, why ARE you so angry all the time, demon?'"

"I'd imagine it has a large part to do with 'well, for a start, you've enslaved me'," he snorted, just barely covering up a laugh, and turned to look at Aglac, "I actually know a deader who thinks the reason that demons are the way demons are is because warlocks treat them badly."

Aglac laughed, "Uh. Really. That's a very bizarre take on things!"

"Tell me about it! She couldn't get it through her rotting skull that the demons only acted 'civil' because the warlock they were bound to was quite literally forcing it," he poked the side of Aglac's head, "It gets better though, she wanted to meet a doomguard. A DOOMGUARD! I never let it loose, of course, as they always turn on the one who bound them first, but it certainly put the fear of god-or the Legion-back into her."

"I will bite your ear you know. A doomguard? I don't remember those at all."

Calleo folded his ears down, looking a bit like a lop eared rabbit, "You wouldn't dare; they're warded-of course, the way the wards work they probably wouldn't go off since I'd assume your aim wouldn't be to bite them clean off," he straightened his ears back up, "and if you were going to do that, I'd be fairly disturbed. As for the doomguards: Big, hooved, winged, tailed, some have mouths on their midsection, we'll have to sucker three more into the ritual or go and enslave one sometime."

Aglac was still staring at Calleo's ears, and now, he was grinning.

Calleo briefly flattened his ears, "What?" he grinned in return, "You can't have forgotten that Elves can move their ears."

"Must have forgotten that. Warded, you say? Hmm?"

"Yeah, you've seen the wards-er, I'd assume, considering you did the continuations of them last week," he smiled, "go on, take a closer look if you want to."

"Make them move again."

Calleo very cautiously moved his ears again, flattening them backward,"...o-kay?"

"Okay, put the left one up."

"Should I ask what you're doing?" he raised his left ear back to its normal position.

"Nope, probably best not to ask!"

"If it involves my ears, I think I -should- ask," he grinned toothily up at Aglac, "So-you're really going to stay?"

"Nah, you're better off not knowing about the ears; and, yes, I'm really going to stay, but I can't promise I just won't follow you around."

"If I wake up to find you gnawing on my ears, Ag..." Calleo turned again and leaned back against Aglac's arm, "You say that last bit as though you think I'm going to mind."

"I can't promise that. I mean, really," Aglac eyed Calleo's ears again, "THEY MOVE! But, really, I didn't know. Not everyone wants a sometimes-mute Orc following them around."

"Of course they move, they've always moved," he smiled, "And you talk enough when you're around me; I'm sure you'll eventually say more than two or three words to everyone else."

"Maybe." Aglac smiled back.

Calleo reached back and batted at Aglac's beard-braid, "They really aren't bad; the lot of them in that weird 'friends with benefits' circle can get a bit strange at times, but I just stop listening when they start in. I blame it on most of them being well under thirty, or on me being well over three hundred."

"Friends with benefits, eh?" Aglac laughed.

"It's amusing if you don't end up stuck in the middle of things when one or more of them take something a bit more seriously than they ought to, or if you don't have to hear about it all the damn time."

"Ah, yes..."

"Of course, that's where skills on tuning things out come into play again," he leaned back and smiled up at Aglac, "You know Garam thinks I'm 'lying' to everyone by not giving anyone a straight answer."

Aglac shrugged, "I don't think Garam likes me terribly much."

Calleo shook his head, "Nah, Garam is just in some hyper-inflated ego cloud. Makes sense, really, he spent awhile being fairly meek and hiding most of who he was, and now that he's managed to get a bit of self confidence, it's all gone to his head," he snorts, "the wrong head at that. He'll either grow out of it or get bitchslapped out of it. Of course, if he talks to you, it means he's been listening."

"Eh? If he talks to me...then he's been listening to what?"

"To whatever you've been saying. Really, Garam isn't bad, he just takes a bit of getting used to in his current-whatever he calls it."

Aglac muttered, "I'll keep that in mind. Do that thing with your ears again..."

"Which thing? One up one back, both bent in half, both back?"

"Both back!"

Calleo flattened his ears backward again, "I'd call you strange, Ag, but the fact that you want to continue living with me already puts you firmly in ithat/i category."

"Pretty much." Aglac grinned. "I'd say that's a safe bet."

"Perfect match, then, and unlike the last housemate I had, you tend to wear pants around the house," he reached back and batted at the beard braid again, "Probably best not to ask the details of that."

"Uh. I am not going to ask that. And I promise to wear pants. Most of the time."

Calleo nodded absently, "You'd be amazed at how quickly I learned to tune that out."

"Yeah...I, ah, yeah. Disturbing."

Calleo nodded and leaned back on Aglac again, "You make a good backrest, by the way," he turned around after a few minutes and smirked,"Hey, Ag! Let's head into Blackrock and throw fire at the Dark Iron Dwarves before heading back home-no, wait!" He grined, "Dwarves on fire, visit their bar, then go home."

"I can set Dwarves on fire? Damn you're awesome. Up an' at 'em then. Before I..." Aglac grinned at Calleo's ears again.

"Grab my ears and drag me? Or chew on them? Not sure which is worse," he grinned back and stood, "Let's go then."


End file.
